I am Catholic, so this comes to me second-hand, but I am told there was a time, among Anglicans well back in the pre-St.Lawrence days, when an old saying suggested one went to Trinity Anglican Church for piety, St. Peter’s for society and St. Paul’s for variety.

I also have it on good authority that “variety” was often replaced by “notoriety.”

(Others argue that Trinity and St. Paul’s were interchangeable in their qualities, but for the sake of argument, I’ll use this version.)

Times have certainly changed. Trinity is now a hole in the ground on which an apartment building is going up, while St. Peter’s has become the amalgamated Anglican Parish of St. Lawrence, having taken in Trinity.

But plucky little St. Paul’s, which resisted amalgamation in 2007 and kept on its own way, is still big on variety and/or notoriety.

And while losing a part of the city’s sacred music heritage may not be the best way to maintain notoriety, the small but active downtown church is doing it for reasons the Lord would consider virtuous.

Workers and volunteers this week removed most of what remained of St. Paul’s venerable organ, leaving only the pipes behind as a memorial, along with the keys, which are to be displayed in plexiglas.

The job was supposed to last longer, but workers found there was not as much pure oak wood in need of preservation and repurposing as initially thought, said St. Paul’s rector Rev. Lynn Dillabough.

The church held an informal recital Sunday afternoon, allowing people to hear the organ one last time before it was decommissioned.

I had not, as of this writing, received a definitive word on the aged instrument’s vintage, although it is believed the organ has been there since the late 1800s.

It was, as is often the case, in need of maintenance, but (again, as is often the case) there was only so much money to go around.

The church council decided, at its most recent annual vestry meeting in February 2018, to let the organ go.

“It was unanimous,” said Dillabough, acknowledging it was also “very sad news.”

“We could have spent $100,000 to have it restored,” said Dillabough.

“But we just decided that’s not a good use of our money, that we should spend our money doing ministry, helping the community.”

That ministry is extensive. It includes a breakfast program at Commonwealth Public School, support for Loaves and Fishes and refugee support, and that’s not an exhaustive list.

St. Paul’s has about 300 members in its parish, averaging about 100 people for its two Sunday masses.

There will still be music at St. Paul’s, of course.

Members plans to have a platform built in the spot where the organ stood to accommodate its musicians and choir. On a regular Sunday, the church features an electric piano and two guitars, while a trumpeter and flautist are brought in on special occasions.

But the loss of an instrument as majestic as the organ is a reminder of the sad reality we most recently felt with the demolition of Trinity, the slow disappearance of Brockville’s rich history of worship, or at least parts of it.

Worship, however, is only one aspect of religion. Another is ministry, and the folks at St. Paul’s take that to mean a firm rootedness in the present, using present resources to meet present needs.

Using the money to keep the organ a part of the worship would have been a “selfish decision,” said Dillabough.

“We’re here for other people; we’re not here for ourselves,” she said.

That doesn’t mean things are about to go flat on Sundays at St. Paul’s, she said, adding it is known as a light-heated congregation.

“We have a lot of fun,” said Dillabough.

City hall reporter Ronald Zajac can be reached at Rzajac@postmedia.com.